Similarity & Contrast
by OstentatiousQuerida
Summary: Bella ends up talking to the new girl in her maths class. Part of the Perceptions series.


_Part of the Perceptions series - Chapter 6 of Ambiguity in Bella's point of view._

_Note: This probably won't make sense if you haven't Chapter 6 of Ambiguity first._

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You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

**_-Harper Lee (Atticus Finch) - To Kill A Mockingbird_**

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Similarity & Contrast

We had arrived at school during the lunch. Edward and I had used the abnormally sunny morning as an excuse to go and hunt before rejoining our classmates. Esme insisted we go to school on the first day back from winter break, refusing to yield to Emmett's complaints that when you had experienced one, you had experienced them all. Everyone knew better than to disagree with Esme. It was all set to be a normal afternoon of repetitive lessons and predictable classmates. The sun migrated behind the clouds around noon, but we gave it till half past to pull off the 'we arrived late back from hiking' excuse we'd planned. This time, we'd been 'camping' in Mount Rainier National Park. It was partly true. Carlisle wasn't a fan of lying, even when we had to; we'd been on an extended hunting trip there a few days earlier.

Edward walked me to my first lesson of the day, leaving me as the afternoon bell rang, giving him just enough time to make it to his class at the other side of the campus. I sighed, slightly annoyed that even Edward wasn't persuasive enough to get into my math class. We had every other lesson together, but that wasn't nearly enough time for my liking. He smiled knowingly, giving me one final peck on the forehead, before hurrying away at an almost human speed.

I was still pretty early, getting my choice of the seat in the classroom. I positioned myself at the back of the classroom in the seat closest to the window. It wasn't an act of precaution, having practised infallible self control for my entire vampiric life, I just preferred the slight, almost imperceptible, breeze that came through the window here. I ignored the rest of the students as they came into the classroom, opting to lean back against the chair, wondering how many seconds it would be till I saw Edward again. _3,570 and counting..._

The lesson dragged on as expected and I was left to give the appearance of puzzling over math problems that could take me seconds to finish. It was the only downside I found after becoming like Edward - the never-ending repetition. I hoped we could go to college again soon, and managed to waste a few minutes deciding on what course I intended to study. It didn't kill enough time though.

A human, Jessica, began talking to the girl on my left. I listened, deciding it was more interesting than whatever the teacher was talking about. Usually I paid attention in lessons, no matter how repetitive they were, but after having two weeks off for winter break I wasn't quite ready to get back into the swing of things yet.

_"Why were you sitting with him?"_

I rolled my eyes. The people of Forks hadn't changed a bit. The excitement and curiosity that was stirred up whenever new students arrived was just the same as it had been when I first came to Forks High. I had felt like my every movement was being watched. I could still vaguely remember the questioning I got when Edward first walked me to school. The times could change, but human curiosity remained.

_"Do you like him?"_

I was quite shocked at her forwardness. Jessica couldn't have known the girl for more than a few hours, but was already questioning her like she was a witness to a murder. Apparently, gall was in the Stanley genes. I was sure I recalled that last name from somewhere.

I heard the poor girl groaning under her breath beside me. I bit back a laugh as I heard her mutterings. Stupid small town people and their stupid questions indeed. I wanted to assure her that it would get better. It was weird, she reminded me a little of myself when I first came to Forks High school, over 70 years ago. I had tried to draw as little attention to myself as possible, but people still found excuses to stare. I felt strangely sorry for her - I knew the feeling of being a new girl well.

"Bad day?" I asked, though the answer was pretty obvious. I wasn't sure why I was talking to her - we'd agreed to keep to ourselves as much as possible. It was for safety really, there was still a small chance someone could remember us.

"The worst," came the reply. I was a little surprised that she was telling the truth instead of glossing over it. I decided I liked this girl. If I'd been a human, I was sure we'd have been friends.

"The first days always the worst, but it gets better," There was no way she would know I was talking about events that happened before her parents were born. I was speaking from experience, momentarily running through the details I could remember from my own first day, over half a century ago. It felt like a whole other lifetime ago. Forks High was just as scary now as it was back then. It wasn't all bad though, it was the first day I saw Edward. Little did I know then that that one meeting would change the course of the rest of my life. I still had vague pictures of the Biology classroom, and was excited for my next lesson – in the infamous classroom itself.

"Who..." she began, ending my trip down memory lane, and I suddenly realised I hadn't introduced myself. Esme would have my head if she thought I wasn't being polite. She was a motherly to all creatures, humans no exception.

"Bella Masen," I said, cutting her off and answering her question. I didn't offer her my hand, keeping contact to a minimum. It was easier than having to explain my chronic 'circulation' problem.

"And you're Alice Brandon," I added, knowing that, by now, she would understand that everybody knew her name. I smiled at her warmly.

I found myself talking a little more, forgetting my usual stance of remaining silent unless asked a direct question in class. It was little surprise that the Cullen children weren't known for our social skills. Alice, as I soon found out, had little problem making conversation with me, an 'almost' welcome change from having humans subconsciously avoid us for the most of our school days. Edward had once said that they didn't know why they were intimidated by us, they just were - some kind of primal survival instinct. I found it a little weird to talk to a human on an equal level. It was a refreshing change from trying not to intimidate someone.

The conversation in all was short, but it ended comfortably. There were only a few minutes of class left and I focused on the clock, watching the hands tick towards the desired destination.

_3... 2... 1..._

The bell rang and I hurried out of the classroom into the arms of the only person I really wanted to see. Edward was waiting for me, probably having taken the secluded route around the school outbuildings so he could arrive at a more inhuman speed.

"Talking to the new girl I hear," he said jokingly, tapping his forehead before wrapping his arms around my waist. _Silly mind reading vampire,_ I found myself thinking. I hoped he hadn't spent his whole lesson listening to what was going on in my classroom, but something in his expression told me not to hope. I rolled my eyes.

"I missed you," I said quietly, though I knew he heard me. I moved myself infinitesimally closer to him, enjoying feeling safe in his arms. I realised just how much I'd missed him during the hour we'd been apart. It was something I never noticed until I was back in his arms - the feeling I only ever got when he was around. I felt his soft lips in my hair as he tightened his hold around me. It was times like this when I wondered if it was even possible to love him any more than I did now.

"I thought we were keeping a low profile, we haven't been gone that long," his mouth was at my ear, his voice becoming cautious.

"What's the harm in talking, Edward?" I asked, feeling myself become annoyed. My mood switched, I pulled back in his embrace to look into his eyes. "Besides, she's not even from around here." I forced myself not to get distracted by his perfect features. I still wasn't immune to his 'dazzling'.

His gaze left mine for an instant, glancing over at the new girl. I could tell he was trying to read her mind, probably trying to assess what threat she would be to us. Even though I had been a vampire for around 70 years, he still treated me as if I were a fragile human at times. I loved him, but sometimes he had to remember I was just as indestructible as he was. His eyes returned to mine, apologetic, as he realised his protectiveness was annoying me.

"There's something about her..." he began to explain himself, but I put my finger to his perfect lips.

"You worry too much." I scolded him playfully. I placed my hand on his chest, looking into his eyes. I willed him to understand.

"I love you," was his reply. No matter how many times he said it, the feelings that ran through my body every time he said it remained the same. It never got old. The arms around my waist held me tighter. It wasn't an apology. I didn't expect it to be. He never would apologise for being overly protective of me.

"I love you too," I whispered back, quickly pecking him on the cheek before entwining my left hand with his.

As we began to walk away I took one last look at Alice. I hoped that, if her situation was anything like mine, she would find _her_ Edward.

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**Disclaimer; I don't own Twilight.**

**A/N; **I don't know how well I wrote Bella's point of view. I think vampire Bella is hard to write - but I gave it a shot anyway.

I have a few of these planned, and they will be posted when the plot allows me to (obviously some characters know more than others, so I can't post plot details until after they've been revealed). I didn't want to put them in with the actual story, but I still liked them, so I decided to post them separately.

This is dedicated to **mz(.)spiffy**, because she was the only person who reviewed chapter 6 of Ambiguity. Thank you.

Shameless advertising here; _Check out Ambiguity if you haven't already read it. The good stuff starts in the next chapter._

Review please?

Ostentatious Querida =]


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